Lime Pictures announced today that Channel 4 has commissioned a sixth series of late-night Hollyoaks spin off Hollyoaks Later.

The new series, currently in pre-production, will air on E4 this autumn. It will consist of five hour-long episodes that will be shown across consecutive nights over a week, in a post-watershed timeslot.

The new special episodes of the popular soap will reintroduce several well-loved faces from the soap's past. Long-time stalwart character Tony Hutchinson's (Nick Pickard) ongoing cancer storyline will be invigorated with the return of his old friends Kurt Benson (Jeremy Edwards) and Finn (James Redmond), as well his brother Dom (John Pickard). They'll be joined by some 'unexpected and unhinged' characters in a series of Spanish and Moroccan locations.

Alongside Tony's storyline, Hollyoaks Later will also feature a chilling new story involving Esther and Tilly celebrating an 18th birthday in a spooky location, while Theresa will meet up with a new member of the McQueen clan on a road trip.

Jane Steventon will again serve as the show's Producer, and the series will be Executive Produced by Lime Picture's Head of Continuing Drama Bryan Kirkwood.

Bryan Kirkwood said that he was thrilled with the commissioning of the new series: “We are very happy to announce the commissioning of series six of Hollyoaks Later. It is a returning series that gives an annual late night treat to loyal Hollyoaks fans”.

Lee Mason, Channel 4 Editor, Hollyoaks, said that he was "thrilled to be bringing back Hollyoaks Later for a sixth series and with it some of our best loved Hollyoaks faces. Tony’s cancer battle is an important story for us to tell and we’re so excited to be able to explore it further within the high octane, highly emotional and sometimes shocking world of Hollyoaks Later”.